swept the child into his arms.
‘What happened?’
‘There’s been an accident,’ she explained as she watched the little boy cling to him. The child obviously knew him, although she had no idea what their relationship was.
‘An accident,’ Luca repeated, staring at the child in concern.
‘Yes, but he’s fine. There’s just a graze on his cheek—see.’ She brushed a dark curl off the little boy’s face so that Luca could see what she meant then hurried on. Determining Luca’s relationship to the child really wasn’t important at the moment. ‘This little chap was riding his trike down the road when a motorbike came along. The driver managed to avoid him but he’s broken his arm. I was on my way to fetch help when you appeared.’
‘I see.’ Luca’s mouth thinned as he digested what she had told him. Kelly could tell that he was angry and didn’t blame him. The child couldn’t have been more than two years old, far too young to be out on his own.
‘Go up to the house and ask them to phone for an ambulance,’ he instructed tersely. ‘I’ll take a look at the driver while you do that.’
‘Right.’
He started to hurry away but Kelly stopped him. ‘Do you want me to take the child with me? I expect his mother is wondering where’s he’s got to.’
Something crossed his face, an expression she found impossible to decipher. ‘Thank you but no. I’ll keep him here with me.’
He didn’t waste time debating the issue as he strode over to the injured motorcyclist. Kelly watched him kneel down beside the man then turned away. She had a feeling that she was missing something but there was no time to worry about it at the moment.
She hurriedly made her way up the drive to the villa. It was a beautiful house, built all on one level, with a small turret at one side and a low-pitched terracotta tiled roof, characteristic of the houses in the area. Crimson bougainvillea spilled down the walls and surrounded the huge oak door with its gleaming brass knocker. At any other time, she would have loved to explore the house and its grounds but it was more important that she sought help for the injured motorcyclist.
She knocked on the door and waited. She could hear footsteps inside and a moment later an elderly woman appeared.
‘Si?’
‘I’m sorry to bother you,’ Kelly began, ‘but there’s been an accident outside in the road. Can you phone for an ambulance, please?’
‘An accident?’ The woman pressed a hand to her mouth. ‘Is it Matteo? Has he been hurt?’
‘No, no, he’s fine,’ Kelly assured her. ‘It’s the driver of the motorcycle who’s been injured. Dr Ferrero is with him and he said that you would phone for an ambulance.’
‘Si, si. Immediatamente, signorina.’
‘Grazie.’ Kelly smiled her thanks then hurried back down the drive. Luca was examining the motorcyclist’s left ankle when she went back to them.
‘I think he’s damaged his ankle as well, possibly sprained it or even torn a ligament,’ he told her, glancing up.
‘I must have missed that,’ she admitted, crouching down beside him. ‘I was more concerned about his arm, I’m afraid. Sorry.’
‘There is no need to apologise. From what he has told me, the accident could have been a lot more serious if it weren’t for you.’ He looked over at the little boy, who was happily playing with some pebbles, and she could hear the emotion in his voice when he continued. ‘Matteo could have been killed if you hadn’t got him out of the way in time, Kelly. I don’t know how I can ever thank you.’
‘I’m sure the driver would have managed to avoid him,’ she said lightly, because she didn’t want Luca to think that he was beholden to her in any way.
‘Perhaps.’
He didn’t say anything else. Maybe he was relieved to have been let off the hook, she thought. She understood if he felt that way because she felt the same. If she was to work with him then she had to maintain her distance—if it was possible to do that, of course.
Fortunately, there was no time to dwell on that thought as the ambulance arrived just then. Luca told the crew what had happened and politely asked Kelly if she wanted to add anything but she shook her head. There was no need, he was too much of a professional to allow anything to get in the way of him doing his job, even his obvious concern for the child.
A frown pleated her brows when she saw the tenderness on his face as he picked up the little boy. Just who was Matteo? And why was he so important to Luca?
Luca could feel his heart thundering as he watched the crew load the injured man into the ambulance. The terror he’d felt when he’d realised that Matteo was missing was impossible to describe. It had felt as though his guts had turned to liquid when he’d seen the open gates and heard the squeal of brakes.
His stomach lurched as he cuddled the child to him, drawing comfort from the feel of his solid little body. Matteo immediately began to squirm in protest at being held so tightly and Luca forced himself to relax his grip. He smiled at him. ‘Shall we go home and have a drink?’
‘Si, si.’
Matteo clapped his hands in delight. He seemed oblivious to the danger he’d been in and Luca was grateful for that. No child should have to suffer the way he and Sophia had suffered when they’d been children. A child’s life should be filled with happiness and love, and certainly not with the terror he had known when he’d been little older than Matteo was now. Cruelty had been a daily part of life at the children’s home. There’d been physical beatings and, worse still, mental torture. Being told repeatedly that you were worthless had caused far more damage than the physical abuse had done. Luca knew that he would happily forfeit his life to protect this precious child from that kind of harm.
The thought unlocked a door in his mind usually kept securely locked and he swung round. He wasn’t in a fit state to handle the memories at the moment. He had a final word with the paramedics then turned to Kelly, hoping she couldn’t tell how emotional he felt. He needed to be in control when he was with her, keep his feelings locked away as securely as those memories of his childhood. It was the only way he was going to cope.
‘Would you like to come back to the villa for a cup of coffee?’ he offered, hoping she would refuse. Having Kelly in his home would be a mistake. Once she’d been there, he would never be able to rid himself of the memory. He couldn’t bear to imagine how hard it would be to sit in the house each night on his own and recall her visit.
‘No, thank you,’ she said quickly. ‘I don’t want to be a nuisance.’
‘You aren’t being a nuisance,’ he countered curtly, stung by the speed of her refusal. Did she have to make it quite so obvious that she didn’t want anything to do with him?
‘I’d still prefer not to come in.’ She shrugged, drawing his attention to the fact that the vest top she was wearing had left her shoulders bare apart from two thin little straps.
Luca felt the emotions suddenly gush up inside him again like the bubbles in a champagne bottle once the cork was drawn. He couldn’t seem
